27Lesson

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“I’m tired of sitting on this log,” croaked a frog one sunny morning. So he jumped out of his pond and hopped off to explore.

Before long, the frog reached a fence. “How curious,” he said. “I won-der if it tastes good.” He flicked out his long tongue.

“Ugh!” he said. The frog hopped along until he reached a brick path. “How curious,”

he said. “I wonder if it tastes good.” He flicked out his long tongue. “Ick!” he said.The frog kept hopping until he saw a barn. “How curious,” he said as

he hopped up to the door. Just then he heard a loud BZZZZ.“It’s a fly!” cried the frog. “And after all this hopping, I’m hungry. “The frog squeezed under the barn door. A big, fat

fly was flying overhead. “Yum!” said the frog as he leaped into the air, but the fly was fast and flew away.

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The frog, though, didn’t land where he expected to. “How curious,” said the frog. “I’ve landed in a pond with white water and shiny silver banks.” Of course, it wasn’t really a pond. It was a metal pail half-full of fresh milk.

The frog tried to climb out of the pail. But he just kept sliding back into the milk. He swam and splashed and kicked. He went faster and faster.

Then the frog noticed yellow globs floating in the milk. “How curious,” he said. He went on swimming and splashing and kicking. He saw more yellow globs.

Before long there was a yellow hill in the middle of the pail. All that kicking and splashing and swimming had churned the milk into butter!

The frog climbed up the butter hill and jumped out of the pail. He hopped all the way home.

The Science of ButterIs making butter a chemical or a physical change? In a chemical change, a new chemical substance forms. Making butter is a physical change. The chemical makeup of the milk doesn’t change. Churning simply makes drops of fat in the milk stick together to form butter.

The moral of the story: Never give up.

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I’m only a toadBy the side of the road,Watching the world go by.Some hustle and hurry.Some bustle and scurry.Some wiggle, flicker, or fly.They come and they goOn their way to and fro.But I’d rather sit and sing.It’s a glorious day,So I’m happy to stayAnd savor the songs of spring.

Toadby theby the

Roadby Joanne Ryder

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Brown with oval orange spots.Crimson mottled black with blots.

Neon green with blue-black bands.Tangerine with lemon strands.

Banana yellow.Ultramarine.

Almost any color seen.And though their poison can tip a dart,

These frogs are Masters of Fine Art.

Poison-Dart Frogs

The

by Douglas Florian

Poison-Dart Frogs

The

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Three short frog fables follow, but the moral for each has gotten separated from its story. Match the moral to the fable it fits.

Match the

MORAL

Frog and ToadA frog and a toad were sitting

by a pond. Each thought himself handsome and the other ugly. A girl passed by and saw the two. “Yuck!” she cried as she ran away, disgusted by both.

The Frogs and the Well

Two frogs lived in a small pond, but one hot summer it dried up. While looking for a new home, they came to a deep well.

“This looks like a cool, wet place to live. Let’s dive in,” said one frog.

“Not so fast, my friend. What if this well dries up like the

pond? How would we get out?” replied the other frog.

The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk

A mouse and a frog were friends. One day the frog thought it would be fun to tie his leg to the mouse’s. This was fine while they were in the meadow. Later, though, the frog hopped to the pond with the mouse. The poor mouse couldn’t swim and drowned. A passing hawk snatched them both and flew to its nest. Still tied to the mouse, the frog also became the hawk’s dinner.

Morals• Look before you leap.

• Choose your friends wisely.

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Match the MORAL

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Use the words in the box to complete the analogies.

1 alive is to _______________ as right is to wrong

2 guard is to protect as save is to _______________

3 home is to neighborhood as pond is to _______________

4 old is to _______________ as new is to current

5 _______________ is to minor as large is to little

An analogy is a comparison of two sets of words. Each set of words has a similar relationship. Sometimes the words are synonyms, with similar meanings. Sometimes they are antonyms, with opposite meanings. The words in the example analogy have opposite meanings.

Example: good is to bad as clean is to polluted

Think about the relationship of the

words to help you pick the right answer.

Hint:

ancient extinct habitat major preserve

Word Relationships

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In “Amphibian Alert!” you learned about some of the problems that amphibians are facing in the world today. Create a board game about amphibians that are losing their home for one of the reasons given in the article. Have the amphibians look for a new home.

After you have drawn up the plan for your board game, write a set of instructions for how to play the game.

START

Pond is too small.

Lose one turn.

and other amphibians

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Start with a sentence that states what the instructions are for.

List all necessary materials. List each step in the game. Make sure the steps are in the right order.

Tell how the game is won.

FINISH

Pond is polluted by chemicals.

Go back 3 spaces.

African clawed frogs live here.

Go back 2 spaces.

Deadly fungus in the area.

Return to start.

Frog finds safe home with clean water!

Remember to write each step in your instructions as a complete sentence.